YUGOSLAVIA EVENTS CHRONOLOGY, 1989-1991
March 28-29, 1989 21 killed in Kosovan rioting
May 17 - Milan Pancevski (Macedonia) new head of League of Communists
of Yugoslavia (LCY), replaces Stipe Suvar
Sept. 12 - Politburo member Ivan Brigic supports repeal of leading
role of LCY
Sept. 27 - Slovenian parliament passes constitutional amendment
allowing Slovenia to secede;
Slovenian action prompts 50,000 to protest in Titograd
Nov. 28 - Slovenia prevents Serbian demonstration against Slovenian
leadership
Nov. 29 - Serbia urges republics to sever ties to Slovenia
December 13 - Communist Party of Croatia endorses multi-party
elections
Dec. 18 - National austerity program proposed to combat 2000%
inflation
January 23-28, 1990 - Six days of rioting in Kosovo
Jan. 30 - 2 die in Kosovan rioting
Jan. 31 - Kosovan death toll up to 16; 100,000 Montenegrins
demonstrate against Albanians
Feb. 1 - 6 more killed in Kosovo; death toll at 30
Feb. 5 - Slobodan Milosevic, Serbian president, threatens to
send 100,000s of Serbs to Kosovo
Feb. 7 - Federal govt. steps up army presence in Kosovo
Feb. 16 - Croatian CP decides to leave LCY
March 15 - Serbian govt. offers economic aid to Slavs wanting to
resettle in Kosovo
April 11 - Center-right coalition called Demos gains 55% in
Slovenian parliamentary elections, collective presidency race
goes to a runoff
April 22 - Slovenian run-offs give presidency to communist Milan
Kucan (59% of vote)
April 25 - Voting in Croatia gives victory to center-right group
Croatian Democratic Association (wins 104 of 131 seats in parl.)
May 6 - Second round of voting in Croatia gives Party for Democratic
Reform (formerly CP) only 13 seats in parliament
May 8 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) headed by Franjo Tudjman wins
2/3rds of 80 seat main chamber of Republican Parliament; also gets
2/3rds of 116 member Chamber of Communes
July __ - Slovenian parl. votes in favor of sovereignty for republic;
Slovenian members of Federal Parliament refuse to cast votes on
federal matters in one of two chambers
July 2 - Albanians in Kosovo Parliament declares Kosovo sovereign
within Yugoslavia
July 5 - Serbian Parliament suspends local control in Kosovo
Aug. 29 - Riot police break up Albanian crown waiting to meet US
Congressional delegation
Sept. 3 - 100,000 Albanians go on strike in Kosovo
Sept. 13 - 111 Albanian members of dissolved Kosovo parliament
meet secretly to adopt alternative constitution; 2 Albanians shot
by police during weapons search in Palatna, Kosovo
Oct. 1 - Serbs in Croatia, led by Milan Babic, head of local Serbian
National Council, declare their counties autonomous
Nov. 11 - Elections held in Macedonia
Nov. 15 - Macedonian officials declare vote null and void in 54
counties due to irregularities; 25,000 Macedonians protest in
Skopje against Albanians; Prime Minister Markovic warns country
is headed toward disintegration
Nov. 18 - Bosnia-Herzegovina holds first multi-party elections
Dec. 21 - Croatian parl. adopts new constitution
Dec. 23 - Slovenian elections for independence held; in Serbia,
former Socialist Party (formerly CP) wins 194 of 250 seats in parl.
January , 1991 - State presidency and army issue warning to
Slovenia and Croatia to disarm their militias by Jan. 19
Jan. 19 - Slovenia and Croatia defy disarmament warning; state
presidency extends dead-line until Jan. 21
Jan. 21 - Federal collective presidency says that republican
militias are not exempt from disarming; warns that military will
confiscate weapons from 'illegal' paramilitary organizations
(including Interior Ministry troops)
Jan. 22 - Collective pres. says there will be no military action
against Croatia and Slovenia
Jan. 23 - Defense Ministry initiates legal proceedings in military
courts against individuals organizing 'illegal' armed groups
Jan. 24 - Federal and republican troops put on battle alert
Jan. 25 - Croatia's interior minister says they will welcome foreign
help if attacked by JNA
Jan. 26 - Croatian pres. Tudjman says Croatian police reserve will
be disarmed; army guarantees it will not act against the republic
Jan. 27 - Tudjman says crisis and war narrowly averted
Jan. 30 - Yugo. military orders Croatian Def. Min., Martin Spegelj,
to be detained for questioning about plotting to use arms to launch
a civil war; Croatia does not comply
Jan. 31 - Tudjman leaves meeting of leaders in Belgrade over dispute
of military's commitment to defend communism and the federal system
Feb. 2 - Army says Croatia reneges on pledge to disarm police reserves
and arrest Spegelj, says it will carry out its constitutional duties
Feb. 8 - Slovenia announces legal steps to secede from Yugo.;
Slovenian and Croatian presidents boycott third round of talks
in Belgrade aimed at resolving Yugoslavia's crisis
Feb. 20 - Slovenian parl. votes 173-1 (2 abstentions) to begin
formal secession; constitutional amendment adopted declaring
republican laws sovereign to fed. laws
Feb. 21 - Croatia follows suit voting 340-0 to make republican
laws sovereign over fed. laws; resolution also formally approved
to begin secession proceedings
Feb. 22 - Fed. presidency decided to appoint committee to examine
differing attitudes to survival of Yugo.
Feb. 27 - Bosnian parl. deadlocked over sovereignty decree, Bosnian
Serbs claim proposal of Muslim Party for Democratic Action will break
up state
March 1 - Tudjman boycotts 6th round of talks aimed at resolving
secessionist crisis; Serbs in Croatian town of Pakrac seize local
police station
March 2 - Croatian security forces storm police station in Pakrac;
at least 30 arrested, some gunfire exchanged; Yugo. pres., Borisav
Jovic, deploys fed troops in Pakrac; troops welcomed by Croatian
dep. interior minister, Milan Brezak
March 3 - 700 Croatian security troops withdrawn from Pakrac; fed.
army to stay on to prevent recurrence of unrest
March 8 - Serbia cuts school funding to Kosovo as Kosovan schools
refuse to utilize new Serbian restrictions on teaching Albanian
history and literature
March 9 - Rally of 100,000 in Belgrade against communist media
bias results in riots; several members of dem. opposition arrested;
fed. tanks and troops used to quell unrest which leaves 2 dead; some
opposition members of parl. declare hunger strike against govt.
March 10 - Protests continue in Belgrade for 2nd day; at least
15 opposition leaders/party members arrested by Serbian govt.
March 11 - Tens of thousands of anti-govt. protestors gather again
in Terazije Square in Belgrade; govt. organizes counter demonstration
of between 30-50,000 in Nove Beograd
March 12 - 100,000 demonstrate in Belgrade; govt. gives in to some
demands and dismisses 5 directors of Belgrade TV who demonstrators
hold responsible for propagandistic reporting; Vuk Draskovic of the
Serbian Renewal Movement, released from prison, addresses crowd in
Republic Square; parl. passes legislation requiring state TV to be
guided by professional principles rather than political interests;
JNA requests that fed. presidency meet to discuss the country's
security situation, and restore law and order; presidency rejects
military's demands
March 13 - Interior Minister, Radmilo Bogdanovic, offers to resign
to satisfy Belgrade protestors; 25,000 gather again in Republic Square
March 14 - Collective presidency deadlocks on role to be played by
army in latest strife
March 15 - Serbian member of collective presidency, and current pres.
of that body, Borisav Jovic, resigns from it; Jovic, a Milosevic
ally, had proposed that 1) the army be allowed to put down
interethnic conflicts; 2) a mobilization be called; and 3) republican laws
contradicting federal laws be declared invalid; presidency votes
5-3 against these (Macedonian pres., Vasil Turpurkovski, Kosovan
pres., Riza Sapunxhia, BH pres., Bogic Bogicevic, Slovenian pres.,
Milan Kucan, and Croatian pres., Tudjman all vote against)
March 16 - Army threats to take emergency measures to deal with
crisis are met by Croatian and Serbian mobilization of police and
paramilitary troops; Milosevic declares that Serbia will no longer
recognize the authority of the collective presidency; Montenegrin
and Vojvodinian presidents also resign from coll. pres. (possibly
at Milosevic request); Sapunxhia dismissed from his post by
Milosevic thereby depriving pres. of a quorum
March 17 - Krajina region of Croatia declared a Serbian autonomous
region by activist Serbs
living there; Milosevic said to be behind move to provoke Croats
against Serbs and convince army to move in
March 19 - Army high command says it will not interfere in internal
political crisis, but will protect against inter-ethnic civil war,
halt unrest, protect borders, and prevent any republic from leaving
the federation unless all others agree
March 20 - Serbia's Jovic withdraws his resignation after the Serbian
parl. refuses to accept it
March 21 - Fed. presidency orders talks to resume between leaders
of the republics
March 25 - Milosevic and Tudjman meet on the border of their
republics and agree to peacefully settle disputes
March 27 - Tens of thousands gather in Belgrade's Republic Square
to commemorate 50th anniversary of coup that overthrew pro-Nazi
govt., and to denounce communist authorities
March 31 - Gun battles break out in Plitvice national park in
Croatia when armed Serbs attempt
to seize the park; 2 killed in gun battle (1 Croatian policeman, 1 Serb)
April 1 - Serbs in Krajina region of Croatia declare that they are
uniting their area with Serbia
April 16 - 700,000 workers in Serbia go on strike for back pay; 400
striking mechanics of JAT keep the airline from flying
May 2 - Croatian police are ambushed in predominantly Serbian town
of Borovo Selo; at least 12 people killed before Yugoslav army
intervenes
May 6 - 30,000 Croatian anti-military protestors attack Yugoslav
troops guarding naval port in Split over military's inability to
break blockade of Croatian town of Kijevo; 1 soldier killed; Fed.
Def. Min., Gen. Veljko Kadijevic, declares combat alert and says
country is in a state of civil war; $5 million of US aid to Yugo.
suspended due to systematic human rights abuses; $1.1 billion
loan from IMF could be suspended as well
May 7 - Demonstrators in Macedonia and BH demand their military
service be restricted to their own republics
May 9 - Army given permission by fed. pres. to halt ethnic violence
May 11 - Fed. PM Markovic tells Serbs and Croats to surrender
their weapons or have them taken from them
May 12 - Serbian enclaves in Croatia vote to unite themselves
with Serbia
May 15 - Serbia blocks rotation of fed. pres. to Croatian,
Stipe Mesic, provoking fed. govtal. crisis
May 18 - Def. Min. Kadijevic warns neighboring countries (Italy
and Bulgaria) against taking advantage of Yugoslavia's continuing
governing crisis
May 19 - Croats voting in sovereignty referendum overwhelmingly
support independence for republic, and right to form alliances
with other republics
May 29 - Tudjman declares Croatia is an independent state
June 21 - US Sec. of State Baker, in Yugoslavia, reaches impasse
with Yugo. leaders over future of the country
June 22 - Tudjman and Slovenian pres. Kucan meet to coordinate
independence moves
June 24 - European Community and CSCE declare they are in favor
of the 'unity and territorial integrity' of Yugoslavia, and that
they will not support either Slovenian or Croatian independence
June 25 - Croatian Sabor (parl.) preempts Slovenian Parliament by
declaring independence, Slovenian parl. follows suit later that
evening; both republics declare they are willing to continue
negotiations with but favor a confederal solution
June 26 - International border posts in Slovenia occupied by
Slovene militia, Yugo. army (JNA) troops move up to dislodge
them and Slovenes block highways to prevent JNA movements;
Serb paramilitary force Marticevci (named for Milan Martic,
Krajina Serb Int. Min.) launch early morning attack on Croat
police station in Glina (35 miles from Zagreb), Croat policeman,
2 civilians killed, Yugo. army (JNA) intervenes effectively
establishing Serb-held territories; US declares it will ignore
'unilateral' declarations of independence by both republics
June 27 - Yugo. army breaks through blockades in Slovenia; Slovenian
Def. Min., Janez Jansa, reports skirmishes that have killed or
wounded 100 people; claims his forces have shot down 6 army
helicopters; Austria sends 5,000 troops to border crossings
w/ Slovenia
June 29 - Cease-fire brokered by 3 EC foreign ministers
(Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands); terms include exchange
of prisoners, lifting of blockades, and suspension of the
declaration of independence for 3 months; JNA says Slovenia
not obeying terms and should surrender control of border posts
June 30 - Agreement reached between Slovenia and Yugoslavia's
Markovic for the return of JNA to its barracks; JNA barracks
in Slovenia surrounded by militia forces; At least 3 die in
Ljubljana in shooting incidents on Saturday night; German For.
Min., Hans-Dietrich Genscher, announces he will go to Yugo. as
part of CSCE crisis negotiating team on July 1
July 1 - Stipe Mesic finally installed as new pres. of Yugo.
collective presidency; JNA high command accuses Slovenia of
harassing army units in their barracks; German Chancellor,
Helmut Kohl, threatens Yugo. with loss of aid if troops are sent
into Slovenia and Croatia again; CDU chairman, Volker Ruhe, urges
Germany, other EC countries to recognize republics' independence
July 2 - New fighting breaks out between fed. army and Slovenian
troops, 25 reported killed; JNA has vowed to destroy Slovenian
ind.; Army Chief of Staff, Blagoje Adzic, says a truce is no
longer possible; JNA troops fire on crowd in Zagreb who are trying
to stop a tank convoy from leaving its barracks (3 killed,
7 wounded); US admin. continues to hold to position that
unilateral declarations of ind. are not to be rewarded
July 3 - Convoys of fed. troops head for Slovenia and Croatia,
but stop far short of the borders; JNA troops told not to fire
unless fired upon
July 4 - 3rd truce in effect; fed. troops ordered to their barrack
while Slovenes haul off captured tanks; Serbia supposedly no longer
opposed to Slovenian ind., if it is achieved peacefully; Croatia not
included in this plan; CSCE waits to hear if Yugo. and Slovenia will
accept their monitors for cease fire
July 5 - EC bans all arms shipments, and suspends $900 million in
aid, to Yugo.; Slovenia begins releasing hundreds of Yugo. army
prisoners captured in fighting; Yugo. Pres. Stipe Mesic says army
will not intervene
July 6 - Truce talks break down over control of Slovenia's intl.
border crossings; Milosevic tells Serbs to prepare for war, as
pressure intensifies between Serbia and Croatia
July 8 - Agreement reached between Slovenes and fed. govt. in
Brioni (negotiated by 3 EC foreign ministers [FMs]), agreement
calls for immediate cease fire, pull-back of JNA troops to bases,
and Yugo. pres. to be in control of army; Slovenes to staff border
posts on behalf of fed. govt., and will put off ind. for 3 months;
Soviet leader Gorbachev tells Yugos. they should use democratic
means to achieve peaceful solution, but that he supports the
'unity and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia'; Croatian
artillery used for first time against Serb militants inside
Croatia (7 dead); Slovenia announces it is withdrawing its
deputies from Yugo. parl.
July 10 - Slovenian parl. ratifies peace agreement, 189-11;
Yugoslav and Albanian border guards exchange gunfire
July 11 - Fighting spreads to Osijek, on border with Vojvodina;
2 killed
July 14 - Fighting breaks out in Banija region of Croatia
(s. of Zagreb); at least 2 killed
July 22 - 20 killed in fighting between Serbs and Croats in E.
Croatia
July 23 - 2 Croatian policemen killed in fighting near village
of Palaca (E Croatia)
July 25 - Fighting between Croats and fed. troops kills 18
militiamen and 1 army soldier
July 26 - 24 more die according to TANJUG; fed. pres. fails to
come up with solution during meeting
July 27 - 10 killed in town of Glina (s of Zag.); Yugo. air
force jet fires on Croatian forces in town of Ilok (e. Croatia)
July 28 - Fed. PM Markovic calls for EC for. mins. to return to
Yugo.; threatens to resign if his proposals are not accepted by
warring factions
July 29 - EC FMs say they will travel to Yugo. to help
negotiate peace
July 30 - Serbs in Krajina region refuse to allow EC ministers
in unless they are invited by Krajina govt.; EC says it will
send 200 observers and 300 support personnel to monitor conflict
if an agreement can be worked out; 1 killed, 6 wounded by Yugo.
air force attack on village of Majur; 2 youths shot by Croatian
police in southern Croatian town of Imotski
Aug. 1 - Tudjman dismisses def. min. due to poor showing of
Croatian def. forces; Yugo. airplanes bomb targets around Erdut
and Dalj
Aug. 4 - EC ministers blame Serbia for breakdown in peace talks;
Leader of Serbian Renewal Movement's militia (Serbian Guard),
Branislav Metic, assassinated in Belgrade
Aug. 6 - EC for. mins. call on CSCE to support cease-fire efforts;
cease-fire agreed upon by Yugo. factions
Aug. 9 - Serbia proposes redrawing ethnic and territorial lines in
new Yugo.; CSCE meeting in Prague urges an end to fighting and
creation of a peace accord
Aug. 10 - Small prisoner exchange occurs between JNA and Croats
Aug. 11 - Cease fire comes apart as several killed in renewed fighting
Aug. 14 - Fed. pres. agrees to begin negotiation within a week to
resolve fed. crisis
Aug. 16 - Truce effectively dead with renewed fighting
Aug. 17 - Pope John Paul II says Croats have legitimate aspirations
during mass held in Pecs, Hungary; fighting renewed as Croatian
forces blow up bridge over the Sava River and fed. troops bomb
Croatian positions
Aug. 18 - Fed. troops reinforce positions inside Croatia
Aug. 19 - Fighting around Pakrac and Okucani
Aug. 23 - Truce officially proclaimed broken as Serb and Croat
militias call for general mobilization of their populations
Aug. 25 - Fed. troops cause heavy Croatian losses in fighting
around Vukovar (eastern Croatia on border with Serbia); at least
18 reported dead
Aug. 26 - 7 more killed in fighting; Austria apparently ready to
recognize Croatian ind.; Italy also threatens Serbia with this
unless fighting is stopped
Aug. 31 - Serbs says they will accept EC monitors of fighting;
Yugo. jets force down Ugandan and Romanian planes at Zag. airport
and accuse them of arms smuggling
Sept. 2 - Yugo. groups agree to EC-sponsored cease-fire and
monitoring of cease-fire; fighting in Petrinja
Sept. 3 - EC to hold peace conference on Yugo. with Lord
Carrington to act as chief mediator; CSCE officials to be invited
to 'provide broad support' (Genscher statement)
Sept. 4 - Renewed fighting in Slavonia; Serbs cut highway to
Okucani (75 miles S of Zag.) and move to cut off Osijek;
approximately 20 dead in this area; Genscher again warns Yugo.
that Germany may recognize Slovenia and Croatia unless fighting stops
Sept. 5 - Yugo. army says EC can send observers; heavy fighting
with tanks, planes, and gunboats around Vukovar; 13 more killed
since Wednesday; EC officials believe Croats may be provoking
attacks on army so as to gain German recognition
Sept. 6 - Fighting in Glina (S of Zag.); Dalmatia reported
quiet as Serbs agree to truce along with fed. army and Croats
Sept. 8 - Macedonians go to polls on issue of independence
Sept. 9 - EC monitors arrive amid renewed battles; fighting in
Kostajnica (near Bosnia) and Pakrac (in Slavonia) where 10
have been killed since hundreds of Croatian militiamen were
ambushed by Serbs; Serbs cut Belgrade-Zagreb highway near
Okucani; Serb leader in Krajina, Milan Martic, detained by
police in Bosnia for posing threat of spreading hostilities
to this region; Early returns in Macedonian voting show
overwhelming support for independence; leaders say they want
loose confederation rather than total autonomy; Yugo. soldiers
in firefight with Albanian border guards kill 5 Albanians
Sept. 10 - Serb leaders in Krajina sign EC-sponsored truce; 95% of
voters in Macedonia supported independence in Sunday balloting;
fighting in Slavonia leaves 15 dead; 15,000-20,000 Albanian
demonstrators in Pristina dispersed by police
Sept. 12 - Yugo. def. min. rejects Pres. Stipe Mesic's call for
JNA forces to pull out of Croatia; Kostajnica falls to Serb
forces; 12 Croats killed in fighting, while 11 people killed
in other parts of Croatia
Sept. 15 - Air raid sirens go off in Zag. for first time since
WWII; Croatian forces begin blockades of fed. troops throughout
the republic resulting in JNA retaliations and 26 killed; Croats
claim to have captured hundreds of fed. troops
Sept. 16 - Yugo. jet shot down near Hungarian border in fighting
near Osijek; 3 jets crossed into Hungarian airspace; Osijek's
hospital shelled by fed. troops; air raid sirens again sounded
in Zag.; fighting in Otocec, Okucani, Vukovar; partial
mobilization ordered in Vojvodina
Sept. 20 - JNA begins massive offensive to relieve army barracks
surrounded by Croats
Sept. 22 - Croats offer to halt blockade in exchange for end of
offensive, but JNA refuses; Petrinja (30 miles S of Zag.) lost to
JNA/Serb militias; Serb militia units in hills along Dalmatian
coast and JNA is maintaining a naval blockade; intense fighting
in Zag. around army barracks; 4 killed in Bosnia
Sept. 23 - Cease-fire takes hold while both sides regroup;
fed. troops have fled Varazdin leaving behind 50 tanks, 60
armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and anti-aircraft guns
which are being redistributed to Croatian forces, especially
around Vukovar; tanks, mortar fire in Vukovar for 90 minutes;
continued fighting around Okucani and Nova Gradiska, as well
as coastal town of Sibenik; 9-day blackout in Zag. ends; shells
fired on Monday evening at Vinkovci; Vice-pres. of
ultra-nationalist Croatian group, Croatian Party of Rights,
Ante Paradzik, is killed by Croatian police outside of Zagreb
Sept. 24 - Milosevic tells BBC that Croatia may be allowed to
secede but only if Serbian parts are kept inside Yugo.; battles
between Croats and Serbs in west-central town of Medak
(near Gospic) where Croats are trying to regain territory;
shelling of Vinkovci by fed. troops to break Croat blockade
of garrison there; Split bombarded; army armored column in
Tovarnik (near Vukovar) stopped by Croatians
Sept. 25 - UN makes arms embargo against Yugo. worldwide with
unanimous Sec. Council vote; US Sec. of State Baker accuses fed.
military of 'unacceptable aggression' against Croatia
Sept. 26 - Fighting continues despite cease-fire agreement;
9 more dead; Kosovans begin voting on ind. ref. even though
Serb authorities say they will prevent the vote
Sept. 27 - Serbian police arrest Kosovan leaders and interfere in
ind. ref.; Croatian plane carrying EC observers is fired on by
Croatian anti-aircraft missile (Croatia later apologizes)
Sept. 29 - Several army barracks abandoned by fed. troops;
fighting in Vinkovci-Vukovar area, also in Bjelovar
(40 miles E of Zag.); troops appear ready to leave some
barracks in Zag.; artillery bombardments of Nova Gradiska
Sept. 30 - Clashes in Sisak (30 miles S of Zag.); army begins
new offensive due to surrender of 400-troop force in Bjelovar,
trying to prevent redeployment by Croats of 130 captured
armored vehicles; JNA command announces that it will destroy
a vital facility in each town where a garrison or army
facility is attacked
Oct. 1 - Dubrovnik surrounded; Montenegrin army reservists
overrun Croatian position south of Dubrovnik
Oct. 3 - Serbia announces that it and its allies are taking over
the fed. parl.; Croat troops retreating from Banija area; fed.
troops within 20 miles of Zag.; navy warships close off Dubrovnik,
bombardment of hills above coastal city start forest fires
Oct. 4 - Zag. blacked out while Dubrovnik cut off from rest of
Croatia; Serbia orders partial mobilizaion; Serbian pres. member
Borisav Jovic, says fed. govt. now under control of Serbian
republic and its allies; fed. army agrees at the Hague to halt
assault on Croatia if blockade against garrisons are lifted;
Dubrovnik airport and Adriatic Highway are bombed;
TV tower 5 miles outside of Zag. hit by fed. jets; Sisak,
Karlovac, and Vukovar all under attack
Oct. 5 - Tudjman urges all Croatians to 'fulfill their sacred
duty' and join in defending the republic; roadblocks erected in
Zag.; Serbia also calls for full mobilization; TV tower
outside Zag. hit again by jets; Croatian forces fight off attacks
around Dubrovnik; phosphorous bombs dropped by fed. forces
cause continuous fires to burn out of control
Oct. 6 - Croats capture fed. barracks at Samobor (10 miles W of
Zag.), but also abandon village of Jasenovac, site of WWII Ustasha
death camp
Oct. 7 - Fed. jets attack Croatian pres. palace; Tudjman, Mesic,
and fed. PM Markovic (also a Croat) uninjured; Yugo. military
denies ordering the attack and blames it on the Croats; US
consulate in Zag. urges all Americans to leave the republic;
Gorbachev urges a cessation to the fighting; Tudjman urges US to
send Sixth Fleet into the Adriatic; village 10 miles s. of Zag.
attacked; fighting continues in Karlovac, Vukovar, and Borovo
Naselje; Yugo. commander in Croatia, Gen. Andrija Raseta, says
that 'talking is no longer a possibility'; Slovenia says all fed.
forces must leave the republic by Oct. 18 or they will be treated
as members of a foreign army
Oct. 8 - Raseta meets with Imre Agotic, head of the Croatian
National Guard, after Tudjman gives Raseta a safe conduct promise
out of fed. army's blockaded garrison; new cease-fire takes hold
despite Raseta's claim that Croats break it twice; EC intervention
necessary to get Tudjman and fed. Min. of Def. Kadijevic to agree
to cease-fire; Croatia to lift blockades within 24
hours, while fed. navy to lift blockade of Dalmatian coast;
Croatian parl. votes for definitive separation from Yugo.;
US consulate evacuated to Ljubljana; all-clear siren sounds
in Dubrovnik for first time in 3 days; fighting continues in
Osijek, Vukovar, and Daruvar (40 miles E of Zag.); Slovenes
announce the replacement of all Yugo. dinars for new currency,
the tolar; Kadijevic bans all political party activity in fed.
army, supposedly to prevent unrest and increasing desertions
Oct. 10 - Fighting in and around Vukovar and Osijek despite
truce; EC negotiators criticize all sides for 'showing lack of
good will'; talks in Zag. break down after only 15 minutes
Oct. 11 - Federation presidency, now dominated by Serbia, says fed.
army will not pull out of Serb-dominated areas of Croatia since this
would expose Serbs there to 'physical liquidation'; federal troops
begin to lift blockade of Dubrovnik, Zadar, Split, and Pula as Croats
remove barricades around army garrison in Zag.; 50-truck,
EC-sponsored relief convoy heading to Vukovar is stopped by
shelling; Soviet pres. Gorbachev invites Tudj., Milo.to Moscow
for talks
Oct. 12 - Accord on evacuations reached, but runs into trouble;
2/3rds of fed. army vehicles stopped inside Borongaj barracks
in Zag., while Vukovar relief convoy stopped for 3rd time; Heavy
over-night fighting around Karlovac causing 5,000 refugees to
flee area, many of them to Slovenia; Croats abandon Lipik
(60 miles se of Zag.) under army tank and artillery attacks
Oct. 14 - Relief convoy again turned back from Vuk. when Croats
inside city refuse it entry due to fear of army or rebel
infiltration; fighting supposedly still in Lipik, and Otocec
Oct. 15 - Bosnia-Hercegovina, on proposal by Muslim Party of
Democratic Action, declares sovereignty; resolution states that
BH cannot remain in Yugo. without Serbia and Croatia; 133
delegates vote unanimously for it with some abstaining but 73
Serbian delegates walk out of parl. before vote; Bosnian Serb
leader, Radovan Karadzic, says Muslims and Croats are leading the
state into a hell in which the Muslim people will perhaps vanish,
and there is no way for BH to leave Yugo. as the Serbs will
prevent both Croats and Muslims from doing so; BH pres.,
Alija Izetbegovic, says this demonstrates why BH doesn't
want to remain in Yugo.; Izetbegovic meets with Kadijevic
to get fed. help in preventing formation of paramilitary units
in BH; Rocket attacks in Vinkovci and Osijek; other battles in
Sisak, Pakrac, and Lipik; Tudjman and Milosevic leave separately
for Moscow, hold 3-way meeting w/ Gorbachev; leaders agree to
cease-fire
Oct. 17 - Army renews attack on Dubrovnik, bombing suburbs and
nearby ports; large-scale evacuation of area around Ilok in E.
Croatia involving up to 8,000 civilians and militia; militia hand
over weapons to Yugo. army before evacuation and promised army
protection against Serb militias; air attacks on Zag. and Sisak
(30 miles se of Zag.); Croat forces shoot down plane
over Osijek; Special UN envoy, Cyrus Vance, arrives in Zag. for
talks with Croat leaders; Croat govt. warns fed. army to leave
the republic by midnight, Nov. 10, or be considered occupying
army (same as Oct. 9 Slovenian declaration)
Oct. 18 - 10th EC-brokered truce arranged but Serbia balks at
efforts to restructure the fed.; 5 other republics accept
Lord Carrington's plan for a loose economic, political, and
judicial union, including Slovenia; oil refinery in Sisak set
on fire by tank shelling; more fighting in Vukovar; Vinkovci
shelled; air force planes attack Pakrac, artillery attack on
Nova Gradiska (90 miles SE of Zag.); TANJUG reports more
desertions in army ranks as 200 flee front in Slavonia
Oct. 19 - 13-vehicle relief convoy gets through to Vukovar;
despite truce, shelling continues around Dubrovnik, in Osijek and
Nova Gradiska
Oct. 20 - Relief convoy escorted out of Vukovar by fed. troops and
taken on 70-mile detour
through heavily contested areas; 1 truck hits land mine and 2
nurses wounded; convoy arrives behind Croatian lines; Shelling
of Vuk. resumes Sunday; also more shelling of villages 18 miles
s. of Zag. and n. of Osijek; army blames Croatian militia for
fighting around Nova Gradiska and Jasenovac; UN envoy Vance briefs
Sec. Gen. Javier Perez de Cuellar, and later states that time is
running out
Oct. 21 - Vuk. under fire from Serbian mortars across Danube and
from south; Dubrovnik battle intensifies with fighting in southern
suburbs of Mlini and Plat, fed. army blames Croats for instigating
attacks; Serbia states that it is banning an autonomy referendum
in Muslim Sanjak region of southern Serbia; Milosevic rejects EC
peace proposals for new Yugo. as not taking account of Serb
minority's demands
Oct. 23 - Fed. gunboats shell heart of historic Dub. for 1st time
causing damage to some city monuments (Minceta Tower on city
ramparts, old musical school in city center, Revelin fortress
at s. gate); city hospital hit; army retreats from Kupari
(s. of Dub.) and attacks walled fortress of Dub. in retaliation;
EC monitors confirm the attack; naval blockade restored; Fed.
planes bomb Jasenovac (40 miles se. of Zag.); Vuk. shelled;
Serbia and Montenegro call up reservists
Oct. 24 - Fed. army seizes Kupari
Oct. 25 - Army again advances on Dub. despite local cease fire
demanded by EC observers of area commander, Gen. Raseta; Karlovac
under rocket attack; Milosevic rejects EC proposal for
demilitarizing Serb-dominated areas of Croatia and giving
them limited autonomy; Tudjman calls on world leaders including
Pres. Bush to take action against Aputsch-minded top brass;
Croat pilot defects to Austria with fed. air force Mig-21;
Muslims in Sanjak begin voting on autonomy despite Serb ban
on referendum; Serbs in BH form own parl. and announce they
will hold ref. on ind. in Nov.; Pres. of Montenegro, Momir
Bulatovic, wins parl. approval for accepting EC peace plan,
thereby breaking with Serbia; Tudjman says paramilitary forces
of extreme- right Croatian Party of Rights must either be
merged with Croatian National Guard or be dissolved; Fed.
troops storm into walled city area of Dub.; leader of Dub.
defenses, Miljenko Bratos, killed by friendly fire in car at
checkpoint
Oct. 26 - Last of Yugo. troops leaves Slovenia; Vuk. under
heavy attack
Oct. 27 - EC condemns seige of Dub. by fed. troops and says demand
that all defenders surrender their weapons is Aan illegal act
clearly aimed at seizure of an indisputably Croatian city;
1,200 who have fled Dub. arrive in Korcula by ferry; fighting
continues in Vuk.; artillery and rocket attack on Sinj
(150 miles s. of Zag.); Osijek and Vinkovci also attacked;
JNA refuses to assist EC officials on their journey from
Rijeka to Dub., and they are held up on Korcula; Estimates
of 90% of voters turn out for ref. in Sanjak, says Muslim
Party of Democratic Action; Yugo. warplane drops cluster bomb
on Hungarian border village of Barcs; Serbia's for. min.
claims it was an accident
Oct. 28 - Germany and Belgium say they will call for EC
sanctions against Serbia and the Yugo. govt. due to their
obstructionist actions
Oct. 29 - Serbian Dep. For. Min., Vladislav Veizovic, says
EC-sponsored talks should end; Hungary captures 6 Croats
inside Hungary after they flee from battle with fed. troops;
bombing attacks on Djakovo (22 miles SW of Osijek); other
fighting near Vuk. and Novska
Oct. 31 - Relief flotilla of Croatian ships allowed to enter
Dub. harbor; Yugo. pres. Mesic (an ethnic Croat), and Croatian
Premier, Franjo Greguric, on board along with hundreds of
returning residents of Dub.
Nov. 1 - Fed. army shells area of Dub. outside of old city walls;
also shelling of Osijek and Vinkovci; planes attack Pakrac
Nov. 2 - Fighting continues in same locations with more shelling of
resort hotels in Dub.; shelling from hills behind walled city
cause damage in old town; western part of Vuk. falls to fed. army
Nov. 3 - 3 Hungarian ships on Danube near Vuk. fired upon; fed.
army continues attack against eastern part of Vukovar
Nov. 5 - Serbia rejects EC peace plan despite threat of
economic sanctions, but agrees to new truce; Lord Carrington
says if this one fails, talks should be indefinitely postponed;
Serbs and Montenegrins in peace talks propose that ethnic groups
be allowed to decide which republic they will belong to
Nov. 7 - Planes bomb 12 Croatian towns
Nov. 8 - EC suspends $900 million in aid to Yugo. and
requests UN oil embargo and other sanctions; Canada says it
will halt preferential tariff treatment and require permits for
all exports to Yugo.; Pres. Bush praises sanctions and says US
is considering what to do; Fed. navy says it is reimposing naval
blockade of Croatian ports; JNA says long-range missiles at fed.
bases inside Croatia aimed at Croatian targets; Karlovac shelled;
Osijek under rocket attack; Sibenik under fire
Nov. 9 - Bush, at NATO summit in Rome, announces sanctions
against Yugo., but rejects military intervention as too early;
defers to EC for resolution of the crisis
Nov. 10 - Heavy shelling of Dub. continues; sniper fire around
hotels Argentina and Belvedere where hundreds of refugees are
taking shelter; estimates of defenders of Dub. at 1,000 soldiers
armed with light weaponry; city now under seige since Oct. 1
Nov. 11 - Fed. gunboats fire on Dub. hitting 17 hotels; EC announces
it will withdraw its observers located in Hotel Argentina; Fed.
troops begin leaving Rijeka (scheduled to be gone by Dec. 10);
Vinkovci under heavy attack; gunfire near Zadar, explosions in
Karlovac; Vuk. near collapse as fed. troops near city center
Nov. 12 - Shelling around Dub.; fighting in Borovo Naselje
(N of Vuk.)
Nov. 13 - Temporary cease-fire at 1:00pm around Dub. to allow for
evacuation of EC monitors and some citizens; shelling damages parts
of Old Town; Lord Carrington speaks with Tudjman in Graz, Austria,
and Milosevic in Belgrade on use of UN peace-keeping force
Nov. 14 - Lord Carrington says tentative agreement is reached on
peace-keeping force; Croats now agree due to steady loss of
territory; UN force is to separate factions inside of Croatia
instead of on the republic's borders; Hundreds try to leave
Dub. on ferry sent to pick up EC monitors; fighting intensifies
in Vuk.
Nov. 15 - New cease-fire agreed upon (13th) to include Croatians
lifting blockade of fed. army barracks in exchange for withdrawal
of all fed. troops; fighting near an end in Vuk. as fed. army and
Serb forces move toward center of town; over 4,000 women and
children cram aboard ferry in Dub. to head for Montenegrin
port of Zelenika; doctor and 3 medical assistants killed in Ivano
Selo (near Pakrac, 70 miles SE of Zag.) when their ambulance
hits a mine; Soviet ship on Danube hit by rocket near Vuk.
(2 killed, 3 wounded); gunboats open fire on Split killing
3 crew members of a ferry; Splits in army ranks as some
hard-liners reject Def. Min. Kadijevic's desire to withdraw
from Croatia; One chamber of fed. parl. votes no-confidence
in Premier Markovic and For. Min. Budimir Loncar, both ethnic
Croats
Nov. 16 - Borovo Naselje (N of Vuk.) falls, even as cease-fire
goes into effect; Vukovar=s governor, Marin Vidic-Bili, sends
letter to Bush and German Chancellor Kohl asking for help
before it is too late
Nov. 18 - Croat commander in Vukovar orders his men to lay down
their arms; sporadic small arms fire in town; Milosevic endorses
peacekeeping idea
Nov. 19 - Thousands flee Vuk.; unconfirmed reports of 2 Croat
guardsmen being executed; Osijek under renewed attack
Nov. 21 - Build-up continues around Osijek; Vinkovci also
reported to be next target; UN envoy Vance meets with
Milosevic and Serb leader, Goran Had, and later with BH pres.
Izetbegovic; Milan Dedakovic, who organized the defense of Vuk.,
is arrested at his Zag. home and charged with leaving the
battlefield and failing to report on the situation; Shelling of
villages around Zadar causes 2,000 to flee their homes
Nov. 22 - Lord Carrington arrives unexpectedly in Belgrade;
Vance meets with Serb leader from Knin part of southern part
of Croatia, Milan Babic; In Croatia, leaders of extreme national-
ist Party of Rights, Dobroslav Paraga and Milan Vukovic are
detained on suspicion of plotting an armed insurrection
(Paraga's militia was a Akey element@ in the defense of Vuk.)
Nov. 23 - 14th cease-fire, but first brokered by UN, agreed
upon even while Serbs move against
Osijek; heavy mortar and rocket attacks; Hungary says thousands
of refugees have fled across the border into Hungary; Tudjman
accuses Serbia of trying to seize territory before cease-fire
goes into effect; Tudjman, Milosevic, and Yugo. Def. Min.
Kadijevic meet in Geneva with Vance and
Carrington
Nov. 24 - Village south of Osijek, Laslovo captured by fed.
troops or Serbs (unclear which)
Nov. 25 - Truce to go into effect, but fed. army presses
attack on Osijek; Croats lift their blockade of fed.
barracks in Zag. and evacuation plans begin; Milosevic says
imminent truce unlikely; tens of thousands have already fled
Osijek; Belgrade Radio reports that 40,000 have fled into Hungary;
Tudjman says Croatia has managed to internationalize the war
Nov. 26 - Pre-dawn army attack on Osijek; more fed. forces
reported leaving Belgrade for the front; rocket attack on town
of Podravska Slatina (90 miles e. of Zag.); Croatian
crop-dusting planes stage air raid on Serb-held villages of
Vera, Tenja, and Bobota (SE of Osijek); Croat troops also
attempt to retake portion of Zag.-Bel. highway
Nov. 27 - Italian relief ship leaves Dub. with 878 refugees;
UNESCO observers refused entrance into Dub.; attacks on Osijek
kill 16, Croatian radio says
Nov. 28 - Relative quiet everywhere except in Osijek and Nova
Gradiska where attacks and shelling continues; Tudjman says he
will accept deployment of UN forces within the republic
Nov. 29 - Vance to return to Yugo. to discuss deployment of
10,000-man UN peacekeeping force; fed. troops leave Martial
Tito barracks in Zagreb; more fighting in Slavonia
Nov. 30 - Army pores cannon fire on Osijek, Nova Gradiska;
Lipik falls to Serbs
Dec. 1 - Vance back in Belgrade for talks; Hans-Dietrich
Genscher says Germany will recognize both Slovenia and
Croatia later this month; more fighting in Osijek and Nova
Gradiska; Croatian artillery fires on Lipik and army positions
around Vinkovci
Dec. 6 - US imposes new sanctions against all of Yugo. while
accusing Serbia of reprehensible attacks against Croatia;
sanctions supposedly to support EC efforts even though the EC
has already lifted its own against all but Serbia and Montenegro
Dec. 15 - New fighting around Osijek; artillery attacks on town
of Generalski Stol (rail link between Karlovac and Rijeka);
Germany's insistence about recognizing Slovenia and Croatia by
Christmas threatens UN plan to deploy 10,000 peacekeepers
(known as Vance Plan)
Dec. 17 - German-French proposal accepted by EC for recognition of any
republic which meets conditions regarding human rights, guarantees
for minorities, and respect for borders; republics must apply by
Dec. 23 and recognition will be granted by Jan. 15
Dec. 19 - Macedonia declares independence; Serbs in Croatia
declare their own republic
Dec. 20 - BH also declares independence; Premier Markovic
announces his resignation saying he is for peace but 81% of
the 1992 fed. budget is earmarked for the military
Dec. 21 - Serbs in BH declare their own republic; US State Dept.
warns Serbia not to threaten either republic
Dec. 22 - Albanians in Kosovo say they will seek recognition
from the EC as an ind. state; Tudjman goes on TV to urge
citizens to keep fighting until all territory is regained;
artillery duels in Slavonia, air force planes drop 2 bombs near
Gospic (central Croatia)
Dec. 23 - Germany formally recognizes Croatia and Slovenia; Croat
forces claim to have re-captured a key Serb stronghold village
in central Croatia; BH makes formal application to EC for
recognition of the republic as an ind. state, also calling
on UN for peacekeeping force on its borders
Dec. 24 - Fighting on Christmas Eve in Osijek
Dec. 25 - Yugo. air force allows civilian plane to land in
Zag. with medical supplies and Christmas gifts
Dec. 26 - Serbia says it will create new and smaller Yugo.
including territory taken from Croatia and BH (Montenegro and
Serbia to be core) according to acting fed. pres., Branko Kostic;
all interested parties will meet in Belgrade on Jan. 3 to discuss
the new union; fed. airplanes attack Zag.-Belgrade highway;
Croats say they have retaken six more villages
Dec. 29 - Air force jets continue attacks on Karlovac;
surface-to-surface missile attacks south of Zag. (fed.
army denies it); Croats push Serbs back in central Croatia
Dec. 30 - Artillery attacks in central Croatia near Pakrac and
Novska (60 miles E of Zag.) and around Nova Gradiska (85 miles e.
of Zag.); Fed. pres. appeals to EC to treat internal borders as
an open issue that can be a topic of negotiations
Dec. 31 - Fed. pres. accepts UN plan for deployment of troops
inside Croatia; fierce fighting around Zadar, Daruvar
(60 miles E of Zag.); bombardments of Sisak, Karlovac